Countries that drink the most alcohol – ranked

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A global ranking of countries that drink the most alcohol, measured by alcohol consumption per capita, using the latest available data from the World Bank.

map of all countries that drink the most alcohol
Mapped: the countries that drink the most alcohol (Our World in Data)

Historically, alcohol has played an important role in many societies around the world. Social drinking and moderate alcohol consumption is a pleasurable pastime for many.

However, the countries that drink the most alcohol, can suffer from more alcohol-related health issues and societal issues.

“Excessive alcohol consumption is linked to a number of negative outcomes: as a risk factor for diseases and health impacts; crime; road incidents; and for some, alcohol dependence. Globally alcohol consumption causes 2.8 million premature deaths per year.”

Hannah Ritchie & Max Roser , OurWorldInData.org.

The annual global average alcohol consumption is 6.18 litres per person. A person is defined as 15 years or older. The latest available data is from 2016.

To account for the variation in alcohol content of different alcoholic drinks (beer, wine, spirits), it is reported in litres of pure alcohol per year.

To make the 6.18-litre average more relatable we can express it in bottles of wine. Wine contains around 12% of pure alcohol per volume2. Therefore, one litre of wine contains 0.12 litres of pure alcohol.

The global average of 6.18 litres of pure alcohol per person per year, essentially equates to approximately 53 bottles of wine per person – or about 1 litre of wine per week.

10 smallest & biggest drinkers

These are the 10 countries that consume the least and most alcohol. In some countries, alcohol consumption is close to zero (presented as zero once rounding has taken place).

At the other end of the scale, alcohol intake is highest at over 20 and 15 litres per person per year in Seychelles and Uganda. This equates to around two or three bottles of wine per person per week.

Regional variations

The World Bank also supplies data in a number of geographical and political regions. Alcohol consumption across North Africa, the Middle East and the Arab World is particularly low.

Europe consumes the most alcohol per capita, particularly in Central and Eastern European countries. Only slightly behind are Western European countries. There are, of course, countries that buck the trend. Nigeria in fifth place, is the highest-ranked non-European nation, consuming 13.4 litres of alcohol per person a year.

  • Central Europe and the Baltics: 11.93
  • European Union: 11.44
  • Euro area: 11.40
  • North America: 9.77
  • Europe & Central Asia: 9.76
  • Africa Western and Central: 6.84
  • East Asia & Pacific: 6.43
  • Latin America & Caribbean: 6.33
  • World: 6.18
  • Sub-Saharan Africa: 5.84
  • Caribbean Small States: 5.79
  • Africa Eastern and Southern: 5.17
  • South Asia: 4.33
  • Pacific island small states: 2.47
  • Middle East & North Africa: 0.81
  • Arab World: 0.62

Countries that drink the most alcohol – complete ranking

The table below ranks the world’s countries by their average annual alcohol consumption (litres) per person.

Some countries may have been omitted due to insufficient data.

RankCountryLitres
1Seychelles20.50
2Uganda15.09
3Czechia14.45
4Lithuania13.22
5Luxembourg12.94
6Germany12.91
7Ireland12.88
8Latvia12.77
9Spain12.72
10Bulgaria12.65
11France12.33
12Burkina Faso12.03
13Portugal12.03
14Austria11.96
15Slovenia11.90
16Romania11.74
17Poland11.71
18Switzerland11.53
19Montenegro11.47
20UK11.45
21Belarus11.45
22Moldova11.43
23Hungary11.35
24Tanzania11.27
25Russia11.19
26Dominica11.18
27Slovakia11.14
28Belgium11.08
29Andorra11.02
30Nigeria10.84
31Cyprus10.81
32Finland10.78
33Laos10.72
34New Zealand10.63
35Saint Lucia10.60
36Australia10.51
37Denmark10.26
38Greece10.18
39Eswatini10.04
40USA9.87
41South Korea9.70
42Barbados9.69
43Argentina9.65
44Netherlands9.61
45South Africa9.52
46Grenada9.48
47Congo9.27
48Estonia9.23
49Croatia9.23
50Iceland9.12
51Chile9.07
52St Vincent & the Gren.9.06
53Rwanda8.95
54St Kitts & Nevis8.94
55Canada8.94
56Sweden8.93
57Serbia8.75
58Gabon8.74
59Vietnam8.66
60Ukraine8.32
61Thailand8.30
62Georgia8.25
63Mongolia8.19
64Malta7.99
65Panama7.98
66Japan7.96
67Italy7.84
68Paraguay7.58
69Brazil7.42
70Norway7.41
71Equatorial Guinea7.23
72Burundi7.19
73Albania7.17
74Bosnia & Herz.7.15
75China7.05
76Angola6.94
77Uruguay6.92
78Guyana6.89
79Philippines6.86
80Trinidad & Tobago6.72
81Dominican Republic6.68
82Cambodia6.64
83Botswana6.59
84Zambia6.54
85Antigua & Barbuda6.38
86Peru6.38
87Kyrgyzstan6.26
88Belize6.22
89World6.18
90North Macedonia6.16
91Liberia6.12
92Sao Tome & Principe5.88
93Cuba5.83
94Colombia5.74
95Sierra Leone5.70
96Cameroon5.65
97Cape Verde5.60
98Armenia5.55
99India5.54
100Namibia5.43
101Guinea-Bissau5.38
102Suriname5.33
103Nicaragua5.18
104Myanmar5.12
105Mexico5.00
106Turkmenistan4.93
107Costa Rica4.87
108Bahamas4.78
109Kazakhstan4.76
110Zimbabwe4.67
111Lesotho4.59
112Bolivia4.43
113Azerbaijan4.41
114Mauritius4.35
115Jamaica4.22
116Israel4.21
117Ecuador4.20
118Venezuela4.14
119Sri Lanka4.10
120UAE3.90
121El Salvador3.89
122North Korea3.80
123Honduras3.76
124Nauru3.71
125Malawi3.63
126Gambia3.55
127Fiji3.32
128Tajikistan3.28
129Benin2.81
130Kenya2.78
131Ghana2.75
132Haiti2.73
133Cote d’Ivoire2.71
134Samoa2.66
135Uzbekistan2.59
136Micronesia2.48
137Togo2.46
138Guatemala2.45
139Central African Republic2.38
140Ethiopia2.36
141Mozambique2.30
142Vanuatu2.25
143Maldives2.22
144Timor2.17
145Tunisia2.12
146Turkey2.05
147Nepal2.05
148Singapore2.03
149DR Congo2.00
150Madagascar1.97

151Solomon Islands1.83
152Lebanon1.71
153Qatar1.59
154Tuvalu1.52
155Eritrea1.44
156Papua New Guinea1.39
157Chad1.37
158Mali1.28
159Guinea1.11
160Bahrain1.09
161Iran1.03
162Algeria0.95
163Malaysia0.85
164Tonga0.80
165Oman0.78
166Senegal0.76
167Morocco0.69
168Jordan0.69
169Comoros0.69
170Niger0.67
171Indonesia0.57
172Sudan0.51
173Brunei0.48
174Kiribati0.46
175Bhutan0.43
176Djibouti0.43
177Iraq0.39
178Egypt0.36
179Pakistan0.34
180Syria0.24
181Afghanistan0.21
182Saudi Arabia0.19
183Yemen0.05
184Mauritania0.04
185Bangladesh0.02
186Libya0.02
187Somalia<0.01
188Kuwait<0.01

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators and Our World in Data